


New Friends

by Sira



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-23
Updated: 2013-02-23
Packaged: 2017-12-03 08:26:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/696282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sira/pseuds/Sira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A season 1 Voy friendship ficlet I found by accident. I know I wrote it but not when or why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Friends

**Author's Note:**

> All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended

He liked tea. She liked coffee. He was Maquis, had been Maquis. She was Starfleet.

Looking over the rim of her coffee cup at the man she’d appointed her first officer, she wondered, not for the first time, if it had been the right decision.

Logic told her it had been the only alternative, that this solution was what had prevented any more volatility between her crew members and the former Maquis. Her instinct told her she could trust this man. 

Instinct and trust… She almost shook her head. Trust, a fickle feeling, so easily betrayed. It was a feeling that needed its time to take root, needed time to grow and deepen. What made her think she could and would trust this particular man? A proud man, a man of many shades. Gentleness and anger seemed to battle for supremacy inside him.  
This was a man who had suffered during the Dominion War, had suffered more than any human being should.  
Having lost her father and fiancé, she wasn’t a stranger to emotional pain, knew how it changed a human being. It had thrown her into depression, a darkness so all encompassing she hadn’t been sure she’d ever find her way back out of it. Even nowadays she could feel the shadows lurking inside of her, ready to sink its claws into her.

Chakotay had found another way to deal with the pain. He’d fought back, had tried to destroy those who had destroyed his family. 

At the moment he seemed stable, but who knew if the anger wouldn’t get the better of him one day? She didn’t.   
Couldn’t.

“You look troubled,” the object of her musings said. He was watching her, his dark eyes holding the questions he didn’t voice.

“I was simply wondering,” she said, waving her hand, dismissing his concern.

He saw right through it. This warrior had sharp instincts. They could prove to be an asset.

“Anything I can help you with?”

“No, I don’t think so. I just… will we make it, Chakotay? Can we make it? I know the crew has to believe that we will, but aren’t we promising too much? Didn’t I promise too much?”

He took a moment to contemplate her words. “There’s no easy answer, Captain. People need hope. Without hope they either give up or become angry, aggressive.”

 

She almost asked ‘like you?’ but bit her tongue.

“At the end of the day we need a reason. A reason to hang on to life, a reason to fight. You did the right thing with giving us all hope.”

Had she? She wasn’t sure.

“We can make it, Captain. Have a little faith yourself.”

A smile curled his lips upward, transforming his face, making him look younger, more carefree. He had a beautiful smile, and she found she’d been staring at him for longer than was appropriate. Forcing her gaze away, she took another sip of coffee, got up, walking so she could face the ready room’s windows.

“It’s going to be a long time, if we make it at all.”

Chakotay had gotten up as well, came to stand beside her.

“Our crews will grow together. People will make friends, family…”

“It sounds so easy when you say it.”

“It won’t be, but I don’t give up a fight before it has even begun. If I’m not quite mistaken you’re the same.”

Looking up at him, she smiled.

“You’re not.”

They held each other’s gaze, time stretching taut, tension between them rising.

It was Chakotay who looked away first this time.

“Maybe we can start it,” he said.

“Start with what?”

“Try to become friends, show our people it is possible to overcome differences.”

Friends? Did she want to become friends with a man who was so very different from her, who was dangerous even if he didn’t seem to be right about now? The decision was an easy one to make.

“Yes, I’d like that.”

This time he openly grinned, turned a bit so he could hold out his hand to her.

She took it, ignoring the slight tingle the contact had caused.

“To new friends,” he said.

“To new friends,” she repeated.

Withdrawing her hand slowly, she hoped this ripple in the pond would be a sign of change, a change to the better. Today, she’d gained a friend. Who knew what tomorrow would bring.

The End


End file.
